The Danger of Digital Burnout - Essay Sample

Introduction

In the current society, so many people are complaining of suffering and stress they experience in their jobs as a result of Digital burnout which is currently increasing at a higher rate than before. These problems are propelled by the excessive utilization of mobile phones that are now everywhere in society. People are more contactable today as even on holidays and free time people are online, and at some point, it is becoming too much. Individuals spend an average of three hours a day on their phones. The consequences of mental burnout are mental and emotional exhaustion; it also distracts concentration on what the individual is doing. In a daily basis, we subject ourselves to a stream of information in an increasing manner as we get informed about everything by our smartphones (Harwood, Dooley, Scott, & Joiner 2014). The conveyance of data in real time and around the world makes a lot of people uncomfortable as they experience distraction and lack of concentration in filtering this information to ascertain what is important. People want to be in social media groups, and the way of avoiding Digital burnout is to put the phone inside a drawer and not to take it out during work. The paper will outline the thesis concerning the dangers of being constantly contactable or Digital burnout, how to avoid its hazards and survive for an extended period in digital marketing. It also explores the rewards and the risks of the anytime-Anywhere internet, then the approach that assists in beating the burnout. Sometimes Digital burnout affects the effectiveness of an organization; hence the paper will explore deeply to show the effects and display the signs associated with risk of Digital burnout.

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Harmful Effects of Digital Burnout

Digital burnout is a psychological term which refers to diminished interest in work and long-term exhaustion due to digital devices. Being continuously contactable puts people in pressure which later results in stress. The stress caused is hazardous for well-being and health. Currently, it is longer practical for us to switch off as the achievements of today`s society makes it harmful to be idle for any period. However, having a break is very significant for our creativity and imagination as we can devote ourselves to doing things that give us pleasure like reading books, meeting friends, sports, and painting. Through continual influence from the outside environment, we lose connection with our voice which tells us what we enjoy doing. Constant posting, chatting, checking our email, and tweeting affects our effectiveness at work as our brain is not designed to carry on different tasks at the same time. Multi-task makes our concentration to suffer. Studies show that our minds take 18 minutes to concentrate on business matters which are complex and to focus on a task. More so, a survey carried out in Germany showed that people take their phones every 15 minutes. Imagining how productivity and effectiveness are affected while working if concentration needs 18 minutes, but interruption is experienced not only from mobile phones but also from notifications that appear on the screens of our computers (Genner 2017). Being on always leads to social media addiction, and if at the particular time its use is abruptly cut down, it results to symptoms of real withdrawal which are irritability, decreased interest in other activities, and lack of sleep. There has been a warning from The American Academy of Pediatrics concerning negative impacts of social media, including Facebook depression, and cyberbullying. Some researchers have revealed the presence of less happiness due to use of online resources as it undermines the sense of well-being through comparison of one`s own life negatively or positively which leads to increased emotional deregulation and one-upping behaviors. It also causes isolation, from family and friends as more friendships online are less real world and physical, social interactions resulting in mood changes. The growing generation who are always contactable will have problems with having less patience, wanting instant gratification, and making quick choices that are impulsive.

The use of digital devices which is increasing at a high rate is caused by the desire to be contactable at all time. Most workers finish their work activities outside traditional work hours. Instead of working more extended hours to gain competitive advantage, the use of digital devices nowadays causes digital burnout, and most workers are worried about when they can switch them off. Colorado State University and the University of British Columbia researched the effects of always being connected. Therefore, they found that employees who usually check their emails three times a day experience less stress. Also, those who answer work emails outside of work hours experience more stress. Also, Digital burnout has been linked to relationship problems and sleeplessness at home which as impact decreases organizational effectiveness in work which nullifies the aim of digital connectivity (O'Neill 2014). The government of French argues that Digital burnout is the cause of their lagging behind other European countries in terms of performance of organizations in recent years. The situation has forced France to implement an employment law that instructs organizations to assure workers a right to disconnect from technology during non-work hours. The actions taken to disconnect are blocking emails sent to employees during holidays, and cutting connections of emails during weekends and specific hours. This law aimed to reduce the burden of information overload and work by defining the borders between professional and private life.

Furthermore, there is a risk of security that is associated with always-on culture, in the workplace when personal life, work, and entertainment intersect through email, social networking and other forms of messaging it creates a risk of losing corporate confidentiality, and data theft and results to malware introduction. Also, it results in staff burnout as the pace of always-on can be kept for long and the fun of it goes out, and that particular fun is a flow that keeps your users engaged. So, when users go out of the flow of engagement, they become less available and less productive. Solving this problem is not easy, and it requires strategizing the prevention of the user burnout.

References

Genner, S. (2017). ON/OFF: Risks and Rewards of the Anytime-Anywhere Internet. Pdf Hochschulverlag AG.

Harwood, J., Dooley, J. J., Scott, A. J., & Joiner, R. (2014). Constantly connected-The effects of smart-devices on mental health. Computers in Human Behavior, 34, 267-272. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563214000661

O'Neill, M. (2014). The Internet of Things: do more devices mean more risks? Computer Fraud & Security, 2014(1), 16-17. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361372314700089